Driver Installation and Switching

Deepsona can acquire from supported USB recorders through its own self-developed acquisition path. That path requires the device to be bound to the Deepsona USB driver in Windows. This page explains what is installed, how to switch a device over, how to verify the result, and how to restore the original vendor driver.

Why a Driver Switch Is Needed

Windows binds one USB function driver to a device at a time. A supported recorder can be attached either to the manufacturer's original driver or to the Deepsona driver, never to both simultaneously. Choosing the Deepsona driver hands the device to the self-developed acquisition path; restoring the vendor driver hands it back to the manufacturer's own software.

The Driver Swap tool states this rule directly: "Switch a connected device between the original Vendor Driver and the Deepsona Driver. A device uses one driver at a time."

While a device is on the Deepsona driver, the manufacturer's own software cannot use it. This is a binding change, not an uninstall — the vendor driver files stay on the machine and the device can be handed back at any time without reinstalling anything.

What Gets Installed

Item	Description
Function driver	The Windows in-box generic USB driver (WinUSB). No third-party kernel driver binary is added to your system.
Driver package	A small signed Deepsona driver package that tells Windows to attach the in-box driver to the supported devices. It is installed with the Deepsona setup program.
Code-signing certificate	The certificate that signs the driver package. The setup program pre-trusts it (see below).
Driver Swap tool	`DriverSwap.exe`, installed in the `DriverSwap` folder inside the Deepsona program directory.

Supported devices

The tool lists only the device families it can switch. After the switch, Windows shows the device with a matching name:

Shown in the tool	Shown in Device Manager after switching
Any supported portable recorder	`<model> (Deepsona WinUSB)` — the model name reported by the device, with the Deepsona suffix

Devices that are not in this list are not shown and cannot be switched.

Prerequisites

Administrator rights. The tool always requests elevation; accept the Windows UAC prompt.
Windows 10 or Windows 11, 32-bit or 64-bit.
The device must be connected and powered on. The tool only lists devices that are present.
No other program may hold the device. Close Deepsona and any other software that talks to the recorder before switching, then unplug and replug the device once.
The driver's certificate must be trusted — normally done automatically by the Deepsona setup program.

Before the first switch it is worth opening Device Manager, finding the device, and noting its current Driver Provider, Driver Version and Driver Date on the Driver tab. That tells you exactly what state to return to.

Certificate Trust

The Deepsona driver package is signed. For Windows to install it without prompting, the signing certificate must be present in two machine certificate stores:

Store	Location
Trusted Root Certification Authorities	Local Machine
Trusted Publishers	Local Machine

The certificate is issued to Deepsona WinUSB (organisation Deepsona) and is self-signed, so subject and issuer are the same.

The Deepsona setup program installs it into both stores for you. On a normal installation you do not have to do anything. To verify, open certlm.msc (Certificates – Local Computer) and look for Deepsona WinUSB under both stores listed above.

Because the package is properly signed, Windows test-signing mode is not required and must not be enabled.

Switching from Inside Deepsona

The quickest route is through the application settings.

Open Settings and select Acquisition Driver in the left navigation.
In the Driver group, choose Deepsona Driver or Vendor Driver.
Click OK. If the choice changed, Deepsona asks whether the Windows USB driver binding of the connected devices should be switched as well.
Click Yes to switch the binding now (a UAC prompt appears), or No to change only the software preference and leave the Windows binding as it is.

The confirmation dialog spells out the consequences: administrator permission is required, a device uses one driver at a time so the switch takes it over from the other software, and choosing No means the self-developed acquisition path will not see the device until its driver is switched.

On completion Deepsona reports the outcome, for example "Connected devices are now on the Deepsona (WinUSB) driver."

Using the Driver Swap Tool

The standalone tool gives per-device control. Find DriverSwap.exe in the DriverSwap folder of your Deepsona installation.

Connect the device and close any software that might be using it.
Double-click DriverSwap.exe and accept the UAC prompt. The Driver Swap window opens and scans automatically.

Read the device table:

Column	Content
Device	Model name as reported by the device.
Hardware Id	The Windows hardware identifier of the device.
Current	`Deepsona Driver`, `Vendor Driver` or `Unknown`.
Description	The description Windows reports for the device.

Select the row you want to change. Both action buttons stay disabled until a row is selected, and each is disabled when the device is already on that driver.
Click Use Deepsona Driver or Restore Vendor Driver.
Watch the log pane. A progress bar labelled Switching driver… appears if the operation takes more than a moment, and the log ends with a Result: line.
Use Refresh at any time to re-scan — for example after plugging in another device.

If Restore Vendor Driver is greyed out and its tooltip reads "No vendor driver installed on this machine.", the manufacturer's driver is not present on this PC. Install the device vendor's driver package first, then repeat the restore.

Command Line Usage

Passing any argument runs the tool without a window. Run it from an elevated console.

DriverSwap --mode vlisten|vendor [--pid <product id> | --device <hardware id> | --all] | --list

Option	Meaning
`--mode vlisten`	Bind the selected devices to the Deepsona driver.
`--mode vendor`	Restore the selected devices to the vendor driver.
`--all`	Apply to every connected supported device.
`--pid <hex>`	Select by product id. Accepts the bare hex value, a `0x` prefix, or the `PID_` form.
`--device <text>`	Select devices whose hardware id or instance id contains this text.
`--list`	List the connected supported devices and exit without changing anything.
`--log <path>`	Also write the output to this file.

If --mode is given without any selection option, every connected supported device is processed.

DriverSwap.exe --list
DriverSwap.exe --mode vlisten --all
DriverSwap.exe --mode vendor  --all --log "%TEMP%\driverswap.log"

Exit code	Meaning
0	Success, or `--list` completed.
1	Usage error — `--mode` missing or not `vlisten` / `vendor`.
2	The vendor driver is not present on this machine and cannot be restored.
3	No supported device connected, or no device matched the selection.
4	Failure, including "driver package not found".
10	Success, but a reboot is recommended to finish.

The tool keeps no log of its own. The graphical version shows its log only on screen, and the command-line version writes a file only when you pass --log. Pass your own --log path whenever you need to keep the output.

Verifying the Switch

In the tool

The Current column for that device reads Deepsona Driver (or Vendor Driver after a restore).
The log ends with Result: OK. or Result: OK — a reboot is recommended to finish.

In Device Manager

Open Device Manager and expand Universal Serial Bus devices.
The device appears with the Deepsona name, i.e. <model> (Deepsona WinUSB).
Right-click → Properties → Driver tab. The Driver Provider reads Deepsona. After a restore it shows the manufacturer again.
There must be no warning icon on the device.

In Deepsona

Open the Recorder dock bar, click Select Frontend and press Refresh. The device should be listed with the connection shown as USB (WinUSB).

Restoring the Original Driver

Restoring hands the device back to the manufacturer's software. It is a rebind, so nothing needs reinstalling.

Close Deepsona and anything else that could be holding the device.
Run DriverSwap.exe as administrator and accept the UAC prompt.
Select the device row and click Restore Vendor Driver.
Wait for Result: OK. If the result mentions a reboot, restart the PC.
Verify in Device Manager that the Driver Provider is the manufacturer again.
Start the manufacturer's software and confirm the device is visible.

The command-line equivalent is:

DriverSwap.exe --mode vendor --all

Removing the Deepsona driver package entirely

If you are decommissioning Deepsona on that machine, the whole driver package can be removed in an elevated PowerShell or Command Prompt:

Run pnputil /enum-drivers and find the entry whose original name is the Deepsona driver package. Note its published name, which looks like oemNN.inf.
Run pnputil /delete-driver oemNN.inf /uninstall /force.
Unplug and replug the device. Windows falls back to the next matching driver — the manufacturer's driver, if it is installed.

Remove the driver package only when you no longer intend to use the self-developed acquisition path on that PC. For everyday switching between the two software packages, use Restore Vendor Driver instead — it is reversible in one click.

Troubleshooting

Message or symptom	Cause and remedy
`No target devices connected.`	Nothing supported is plugged in. Connect the device, power it on, then click Refresh.
`No vendor driver installed on this machine.`	The manufacturer's driver is not on this PC, so it cannot be restored. Install the vendor driver package first.
`Deepsona driver package not found (reinstall Deepsona).`	The driver package is missing from the installation. Reinstall Deepsona.
`Device no longer connected.`	The device was unplugged during the operation. Reconnect it and retry.
`Failed — see log. Try re-plugging the device.`	Windows refused the rebind, usually because something still holds the device. Close all related programs, unplug and replug, retry as administrator.
`Device restart returned an error (change may apply on next replug).`	The change was staged but the device could not be restarted. Unplug and replug it.
"Administrator permission is required to change the USB driver…"	The UAC prompt was declined. Repeat and click Yes.
"The driver-switch tool (DriverSwap.exe) was not found in this installation…"	The tool is missing from the installation folder. Reinstall Deepsona.
Windows keeps prompting about the driver publisher	The signing certificate is not trusted. Verify that Deepsona WinUSB is present in both machine certificate stores listed above; if not, reinstall Deepsona with administrator rights.
The device does not switch by itself after installing Deepsona	It is still held by the other driver. Use Use Deepsona Driver in the tool to force the binding for that specific device.
Deepsona still cannot open the device after a successful switch	Another process is holding the handle. Close all related programs, unplug and replug the device, then start Deepsona again.
The device is not listed in Deepsona although the switch succeeded	Check Settings → Acquisition Driver: the software preference must match the driver the device is bound to.
Recording produces no data although the device is found	The device may be in playback mode. Switch it back to measurement mode on the device itself.

Related: Recorder Setup